For all intents and purposes, SCARLET DAWN is a clear sequel to NEON APOCALYPSE. But instead of being some sort of a concept album like the earlier album was, SCARLET DAWN sort of told things out of order, and used consistent, vivid metaphors and images to get certain points across.

If NEON APOCALYPSE was basically the story of someone who set out to change the world and instead fell in, and out, of love, then SCARLET DAWN is basically what happens after - how the main character reconciles his continued affection for the person he loves, while at the same time wondering if he can exist - or in some ways co-exist - with that person in his life.

Now, I won't hold back in saying that this is most obviously something taken from experience - what little there is of it I suppose. A lot of the images and metaphors bear reference to a girl I was engaged to a while back, and, after the break-up, am quite good friends with. Songs like "Baby Blue" (cadet blue being the color of her eyes) and "Give Anything" (references to "Ursa" being where The Big Dipper - our constellation - is located in the sky), seemed to harken back to absolute reference points or locations in time where I had actually spent some pretty important moments.

What I think were the most important references stem from the point of calling it SCARLET DAWN in the first place.

I don't know where it came from, or why I originally chose it to begin with. All I remember is that, if things like the Big Dipper, and references to shining stars, or celestial bodies were how I remembered being in the relationship, or what I used in my own memory as sort of symbols of that period of time in my life, then perhaps the night could be used as a metaphor for the relationship itself (perhaps for the relationship the main character had back in NEON APOCALYPSE). But now, since that relationship is over, it became clear that that had to be referenced by the morning after. Perhaps the hangover the next day.

If that was the case, then of course the sky would perhaps be red in the main character's mind. Maybe sort of the morning after the apocalypse, so to speak. But how have we always used a red sky in the morning in our culture? Perhaps as "Red sky in the morning, sailor take warning..."?

After kind of running through all the references in my head like this, it became clear that this album was going to be sort of autobiographical, at least in the sense that I had experienced what the main character was going to experience, what many of us in our lives have, or will experience. In that sense, I sort of felt like I was some sort of a prophet. So I decided to get a little... pretentiously God-like.

The idea I had come up with at this point was that the album was indeed going to be called SCARLET DAWN. And one of the main themes was going to be the idea of the red sky in the morning - now that the relationship is over, and you've woken up with a hangover, here comes the hard part, wondering if you can get on with or without her. In that sense, the red sky in the morning is warning the main character of how difficult it's going to be.

But it's not all doom and gloom. The point is actually hope. The best sailors go out onto the sea red sky or not, and come home red sky or not, because they're strong and tough, and have the courage to see themselves through to the end.

On top of that, unless you REALLY did yourself in the night before, your hangover will go away, usually by the time night rolls around.

Ah! And so comes the most important point of the album. If night is used to reference the relationship, and the day after, specifically the morning after, are used to reference what happens at the end of the relationship, the struggle to get yourself through it, then perhaps it's quite easy to say that there is a clear hope after all, because night will of course come again. Life always moves in cycles like that. And as long as one can get through the proverbial day, one always has the night to experience. Again and again.

But what does that say about the songs specifically?

The first tune to have any sort of life was "Consequences". I don't know how it happened, or why, but the song came together in a sort of instant. Out of nowhere. Like with "Echo Papa", the main lead was the first thing to come out. The main guitar riff was just what happened to work up against it. I felt it was very "Pride (in the name of love)"-esque in its structure and worked great as an intro. The great thing is, if you listen to it, it sounds very much like it's summing up what the "consequence of love" is. In that context, it really could've just as easily been at or near the end of the album. Instead, because the album was called SCARLET DAWN, and I wanted to go with the sort of warning theme, I decided to put "Consequences" at the beginning, as it made more sense that way - to warn the character, or maybe the listener, of what was to come next.

What follows is everything from confusion about a relationship - "Probably" - to the anger and frustration of being kicked out of the "Paradise" of night/love - "Exile" - to wondering if your love or your perserverance will be enough to get you through - "Through the Night" - to dealing with the day and the morning after - "Settle Down"/"Give Anything"/"Once Again", to eventually getting through it and looking back with fondness - "The Caterpillar Girl".

Obviously these songs have a context all to themselves that bear fruit separate from the basket displayed in the album, but within the context of the album itself, there are certain messages that come across. SCARLET DAWN itself is a very bumpy ride, but the main character is able to find some sort of resolution at the end, right before he's about to go out and do it all again.

That's really what life is all about isn't it?